The Essential Gluten-free Pantry

When I first started out with gluten-free baking, I did a lot of experimenting with different gluten-free flours to see what worked and what didn't.  Here is a quick guide to what you should buy to try out at the start, and what you should avoid.  To read more about what these flours contribute to your mix read this post.

Brown Rice Flour
White Rice Flour
Sorghum Flour
Teff flour
Potato Flour or Potato Starch
Tapioca Flour
Xanthan Gum

Here are a few things you can pass up on, and the reasons why:

Bean flours - Don't do it!  They taste and smell like beans.  If you need more disincentive, they are often difficult to digest and they spoil quickly.

Amaranth flour - Overrated!  It's very delicate, it goes bad quickly, and sorghum tastes better anyway.  Plus, it's expensive.

Quinoa flour - It has a distinctive flavor and a dry texture like corn flour.  I only use it in a few select recipes, including this pancake recipe.  While I like it, I don't consider it an essential.  I've bought one box of it that I never finished.

What are your essential flours?  Is there anything you wish you hadn't bought?

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